Roman’s Gold
By Ann Gimpel
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
ISBN: 978-1-62210-005-7
Release Date: 6/10/13
50,000 words
The line between hunter and hunted thins, blurs, and finally
disappears.
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Once respected
members of society, shifters are running for their lives. In a futuristic world
where resources are scarce, Kate uses her human form to work as a sex
surrogate. Furious at what looks a lot like genocide for her people, she joins
the shifter underground.
Devon’s been a
cop for a long time. He has shifter blood, but not enough to change into
anything; at least not until the police department insists on a series of
infusions to make him better at tracking shifters so they can be imprisoned—or
killed.
Devon’s latest
assignment is Kate. From the moment he sees her, he can’t get her out of his
mind. The line between hunter and hunted thins, blurs, and finally disappears.
Kate and Devon defy the odds. Will their passion save them or doom them
forever?
Excerpt:
Chapter
1
Kate Roman sauntered down
Telegraph Avenue, the sounds of the constant Berkeley traffic loud in her ears.
The city had banned hovercraft when air quality got so bad people needed masks
to venture outside. The air still made the back of her throat burn, but at least
her eyes didn’t tear up.
She pushed her dark glasses
up her nose and wrapped a colorful scarf more tightly around her hair. Someone
was following her. She’d caught a whiff of something … unusual … with her
feline senses half a dozen blocks back. Her perceptions weren’t as sharp in her
human form, but they gave her a definite edge. Who was back there? Try as she
might, she couldn’t identify its scent. She didn’t want to stop and turn
around. So long as her pursuer thought himself invisible, he—or she, or it—wouldn’t
do anything rash. She hoped.
Her heart beat a little
faster. No cause for alarm. Not yet, anyway. She worked as a sex surrogate, and
there had been hundreds of clients over the past several years. Her hair was
unmistakable with its bright red tone and warm, golden streaks. Clients
sometimes trailed after her. Too shy to approach directly, yet drawn to her
because of the best—sometimes the only—sex they’d had in their lives, they just
liked to be close. Even though they had no idea she was a shifter—that played
into the equation too. Humans were attracted to her animal energy.
Shy clients were one thing.
The other options were scarier. Humans had made a big push to get rid of
shifters. Because killing them outright would have engendered a great hue and
cry from personal rights groups, they’d been imprisoned in droves. Conditions
were deplorable; many of her kin had died. Others were so ill, they might as
well be dead. Apparently the personal rights groups weren’t into visiting
prisons to check on things. Disgust twisted Kate’s features into an annoyed
scowl.
Appalled by what was looking
a lot like the beginnings of genocide, she’d joined the shifter underground, a
group masterminding escapes for those like her. Of course, the escapes were
only the first step. Once out, shifters almost always needed medical care. They
had to be hidden until their magic was strong enough for them to shield
themselves. Many opted for dramatic plastic surgery to obliterate any trace of
who they’d been when captured.
Kate blew out a tense
breath. She had three post-surgical shifters concealed in the basement of her
home in the Berkeley Hills. A wolf, a mountain lion—like her—and a bear were
sequestered behind a hidden wall panel. She hadn’t expected them to stay quite
so long and her pantry was almost bare. She glanced at her wrist computer and
clicked a few keys. Ration Coupons
flashed on the screen, followed by the numerals one and zero. Shit. If it were
only her, ten coupons wouldn’t buy much more than a day’s worth of food. She
needed to put in an emergency call to the underground once she got to her
office and no one could hear her. They had code words for everything, but
still…
Kate tilted her head back.
Her nose twitched. Whoever was behind her was closer. Not much, but a little. Should I turn around? She glanced at the
cross street. Another half block and she’d be at her office. Someone jostled
her shoulder. She pulled back, wary of a trap. Kate strengthened the illusion
which softened her lengthened incisors and muted the sharp angle of her
cheekbones and jaw.
“Sorry,” a man muttered and
pushed past her.
She stared after him and
reached out with a dribble of shifter magic. Whew! She exhaled sharply. Just a human. Definitely not who’d been
following her. Garden-variety cops had genetically-altered enhanced abilities.
They smelled different. Trackers, elite police squads targeting shifters, had
their own unique scent. She pressed her tongue against her teeth, thinking.
What she smelled behind her was … different. Did that mean it wasn’t a cop—or a
Tracker? Not necessarily. He could be
using one of their tricks to mask his spoor. Her throat tightened. She
tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry.
Enough excitement for one morning. Kate lengthened her stride, loped
across the street, taking advantage of an amber light, and took the steps to
her office in a renovated Victorian two at a time. She ran her palm over the
keypad. The electronics hummed and the door clicked open. She ducked inside,
shut the door, and reset the lock.
Annoyance tinged with fear
made her stomach roil. Against her better judgment, she turned and peered
through a frosted glass side panel next to the thick, carved oak door. Eyes
narrowed, she used her feline vision to take a good, hard look at who was walking
down the sidewalk. After a couple minutes of nothing, she chided herself for
being paranoid.
Kate was about to turn away
and get ready for her first client when a man caught her attention. Boy, did he
catch her attention. He was tall, maybe six-foot four, with broad shoulders and
slender hips. He wore form-fitting jeans, a snug knitted dark blue top, and a
brown leather vest. Well-muscled arms and thighs jumped out at her. Kate’s eyes
went to his crotch. Wow. If he looked
like that soft, he’d have a hell of an erection. Waist-length black hair
swirled around him. Dark eyes, set in Native American bone structure, looked
right at her building. It was as if he sensed her looking at him.
What was he? Unfortunately,
she couldn’t identify much. Wood and glass absorbed most of her magic. Kate
moved away from the window. Heat poured through her. Her nipples pebbled into
hard points. Whoever was out there was the most sexually-charged man she’d ever
come across. Was he the one who’d been following her?
She snorted. Part of her
hoped he’d been tracking her—she itched to jump his bones. In spite of being
turned-on, she felt edgy. He could be a member of the elite Tracker hit squads
targeting shifters. Her underground organization had received intel the enemy
was using more sophisticated strategies to trap them. If they start using sex, we’re done for. Her lips curled into a wry
grin. Shifters loved sex. It was a weakness from their animal sides.
“No, it’s a strength,” the mountain cat which lived inside her commented snidely.
“Hold on, sweetie. You’ll get your fix soon enough.”
“I don’t want human sex,” her cat complained. “Find a
shifter for us.”
“Enough of this. I have to get ready for my first client.”
Her cat grumbled. Kate
smiled indulgently. She’d dreamed her bond animal like all shifters did when
they hit puberty. The animal had picked her, but she’d sealed the deal by
accepting it. The cat was a part of her, but its own entity as well. That
included having opinions which sometimes diverged from hers.
She consulted her wrist
computer. Not much time to spare. Kate walked through her spacious office.
Furnished with late nineteenth century antiques to match the building’s
architecture, it was a homey place with overstuffed floral couches and chairs
and golden oak tables. A small computer desk allowed clients to enter their own
personal data—or as much of it as they were comfortable divulging. Unlike the
world’s oldest profession, men actually needed a doctor’s referral to see her.
Kate liked it that way. She’d never had problems with any of her clients. The
doctors screened them for diseases before sending them, which was another plus,
though not exactly necessary. Virtually all the men who came through her door
were virgins.
A lush bedroom with a
four-poster bed and an inventive assortment of toys was behind the front
office. Off to one side was a marble inlaid bathroom with a sunken tub with
Jacuzzi jets. Mirrors lined the walls; the gleaming gold fixtures and
green-veined marble glowed invitingly. Water was good for loosening up nervous
clients. Her first task was getting them used to being naked.
She ducked into her private
quarters—a small room off the bedroom—dropped her bag in a corner, and stripped
off her street clothes and shoes. Pants were a no-no in her business. She
needed skirts in case a client got hard and she needed to move fast. Most of
the men who visited her had erectile issues. Either they came too fast, or they
couldn’t get erections at all.
She pulled a teal jersey top
out of a drawer and tugged it over her head. The soft folds of the fabric
molded to her body. No bra. Looking at the curves of her breasts was good for
clients. She traced the outline of a nipple through the silky fabric. It
stiffened instantly. A vision of the man in the street slammed against her. Her
nether regions flooded. Kate grinned. She felt sorry for her first client.
She’d probably attack him before he even got his clothes off.
She stepped into a black
skirt with an elastic waist and grabbed a hairbrush. Red-gold curls cascaded
nearly to her waist. A smattering of shiny lip gloss and she walked into the
bathroom to check her appearance. Perfect. She looked about twenty-five. Good
for when she needed to play the innocent in seduction charades. She blew a kiss
at the glass. Not bad for a three-hundred-year-old shifter. Three hundred six, her inner voice
corrected. Kate laughed. She wasn’t exactly immortal, but she’d live for
hundreds more years before her face betrayed any sign of age.
The front bell chimed.
Hector was right on time. Bare feet pattering over the thick, Oriental carpet
in her front office, Kate strode to the door and peered through the safety
viewer. She rolled her eyes. He’d brought her flowers. She waved her palm over
the electronically controlled lock; the latch clicked.
“Hi, gorgeous.” Hector
stepped inside and waited for her to lock up before handing her a bouquet of
expensive-looking hothouse blossoms. She laid them on a side table. They’d keep
for an hour out of water.
“Hi there yourself,
handsome.” Kate smiled at him. She liked Hector. At forty-five, he’d decided it
was time to find a wife. Problem was, he’d spent his entire life locked away
behind a computer screen and had no idea how to even say good morning to a
woman, let alone ask for a date. All his sexual experiences had been with his
hand until he’d tried to hire a hooker and failed miserably. He’d come while
she was unzipping his pants and hadn’t been able to get hard again.
He shook light brown hair
back from a high brow. His hazel eyes shone with pleasure. He wasn’t bad
looking, but he needed to get outside. His skin was pasty white and his body
soft. She’d suggested he join a gym and walk at least half an hour out-of-doors
every day. She wondered if he’d taken her up on either suggestion.
His hand snaked out and
curved around one of her breasts. She glanced between his legs, pleased to see
the swell of an erection. Good. He wouldn’t make her work very hard today. Kate
cocked her head to one side and pressed her breast into his hand. “Business
first. That will be five hundred credits.”
His eyes widened. “You’re
giving me a break today.”
“Not really.” Her hand
cupped his hard-on. “Looks like you won’t need much from me.”
Color stained his fair
cheeks. “Funny thing. It got hard when I was on the bus. Just thinking about
you…” His voice trailed off.
“That’s the way it’s
supposed to work. Pay up, so we can get those clothes off you.”
He went to the computer,
bent over, brought up his account, and transferred money into hers. The printer
whirred. She grabbed the piece of paper, tore off one end, signed it, and
handed it to him.
He came around behind her.
His hands closed over her breasts and he nibbled her neck. She leaned against
him for a moment, then led him to the bedroom and closed the door. One of the
best things about being a surrogate was she trained her clients to do exactly
what she liked, while cautioning them that part of lovemaking was
communication. What she liked might not work for a different woman.
She turned toward him. His
shirt and sports coat lay on a chair and he’d stepped out of leather loafers.
His fingers were busy with the fastenings of his slacks.
“Pretty good progress,” she
said, flashing him a warm smile. “First time you came here, it took me most of
the session to get your shirt off.”
He shrugged. His pants
pooled around his ankles. He stepped out of them and shoved his boxers down his
hips. Kate felt her eyes widen. He was more than ready. Not just hard, but a
drop of semen glistened in the center of his glans. “Do you want to undress
me?” she asked.
He closed the distance
between them, put his arms around her and kissed her. She kissed him back,
aware of her own arousal. Hector didn’t have much to do with that. But he’d
give her something to think about other than the wonderfully seductive stranger
she’d seen through her window. She pressed her breasts against him and thrust
her hips against his hard-on.
Hector broke their kiss. He
slid his fingers under her top and tugged it gently over her head. His gaze
locked on her breasts before he took them in his hands. He twirled her nipples
just the way she’d shown him. He’d been surprised when she told him women could
come just from that.
She curved a hand around his
erection. It bucked in her hand. He hadn’t had problems with premature ejaculation
the last few visits, but he seemed more excited today. “Do you need to be
inside me?”
His breath came fast. “Could
I? All I’ve thought about is—” His cock jumped in her hand again. Fluid leaked
from it. She rubbed it around the velvety top with a gentle fingertip.
Kate backed toward the bed.
“How do you want me?”
His gaze sought hers. “Could
you be on top? I’ve done like you said, you know, playing with myself and
fantasizing.”
“Sure.” She waited for him
to lie down. Kate got a condom out of the night table drawer, opened the
wrapper, and rolled it onto him. She straddled him and lowered herself onto his
shaft. He groaned. She took care to keep her hips still. “Tell me when it’s
okay to move. Open your eyes. Look at me. Think about breathing. You can
control this.”
The line of his jaw
clenched, and then softened. He cupped her pussy in an outstretched hand.
Tentative at first, he rubbed her clit when she pushed into his hand. Her
muscles closed around his cock. He rubbed harder. She laid a hand over his to
show him the rhythm she needed.
“Is it okay if I make you
come this way?”
“More than okay.” With her
fingers atop his to guide him, he rubbed harder and faster over her sensitive
tissue. She knew she was moving around his erection, but hoped he had enough to
think about besides coming that he’d be able to control himself. “I’m going to
take my hand away. Now you do the same thing.”
“Like this.”
“Um-hum.” She felt a
familiar tightness, tried to hold back so she could savor things, but it was
too late. She came, shoving her pussy against his hand. A vision of the
gorgeous man she’d seen in the street danced behind her closed lids. Deep in
her mind, the cat purred, “Yesssss. Find
that one for us.” Kate shushed it.
Hector had learned well. He
kept moving his fingers until her hips quieted. “Wow. That was amazing,” he
crowed. “I got to watch you come. Your nipples got hard and you’re all rosy.”
“And you didn’t come
yourself. Even better.” She laughed. “Is it okay if I move now?”
“Will I be able to make you come
again?” She heard a hint of masculine pride in the question.
“No question.”
He held out his arms. “I
want to feel your breasts against me.”
She lowered her torso until
it touched his. “Very good. Asking for what you want is important. Women aren’t
mind readers. Put your hands on my hips. Move me the way you want to be
fucked.”
“What about you?”
“I had a turn. Besides, you
can always touch me or lick me.”
“You haven’t taught me about
licking.” His voice had a catch in it.
“Well, if we don’t get there
today, there’s always next time.”
His hands gripped her hips.
She let him control the movement, pleased it took him several minutes to come.
Once his cock was through spasming inside her, she moved off his body and went
to get a warm, wet cloth from the bathroom. By the time she returned, he had
the condom off. She held out her hand. “I’ll take it. Here.” She handed him the
cloth, dropped the condom into a waste can, and slid into a robe.
A disappointed look washed
across his face. “Is our time up?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“How many more visits do I
have?”
“Not sure. Just a minute,
I’ll look.” Kate padded into the outer office and clicked a few keys on the
desktop computer. She was also buying a little time. Clients frequently got too
attached, which was why she never told them up front how many visits had been
authorized. Sometimes, even if they had several more sessions, she’d hedge,
call their MD, and cut them off.
The truth was, Hector didn’t
really need her anymore. Seven visits had cured both his impotence and his
problems with premature ejaculation.
“Good thing you asked.” She
breezed back into the bedroom, smiling brightly. “We’ve run through your
sessions.” He looked so crestfallen, she went to the bed, sat on the edge, and
took his hands in hers. “Hector. You got what you needed here. You can make
love with anyone now. You don’t need me anymore.”
“But I thought—I mean, I
hoped…” Color crept up his chest to his neck and face.
“Aw, honey. Everyone falls
in love with me. It’s natural. I’m the first woman you had sex with.” She
patted his hand. “I guarantee you I won’t be the last. Try asking that cute
brunette you told me about out for coffee.”
“Can I come back if I get
into problems?”
“Sure. I’ll square it with
your doctor.”
“Really?” He smiled. Hector
was decidedly handsome when he did that.
“Really.” She touched a
finger to his chin. “You’re quite the hunk when you smile. Try to remember to
do it more often.”
He dressed quickly and she
ushered him out the door. “Thanks for the flowers. And best of luck, not that
you’ll need any. You’ll make some woman very happy.”
She closed the door, locked
it, and looked at the time. She needed to call the underground about groceries,
change the bed, and take a shower. It would be tight, but she was pretty sure
she could work everything in before Todd showed up in half an hour.
Kate glanced at the calendar
in her wrist computer. Good. Only the two clients today. Worries about her
three houseguests ate at her. It was better when she was home. The shifters in
her basement were vulnerable by themselves
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